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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mug — to rob
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mug — a face
  18. tear — from crying
  19. squash — to crush
  20. mate — a partner
  21. kid — child
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com